Cougar spotted at B.C. hospital

Hospital workers got an up close and personal view of wildlife when they spotted a cougar sitting on a garden box outside the building at the Port Hardy Hospital on north east Vancouver Island.

Hospital employee Danielle Nye snapped photos of the animal during the Tuesday morning sighting and uploaded them Facebook, where they were quickly shared to the community’s North Island Wildlife Awareness Facebook group.

“Just another average day at the hospital in port hardy…” wrote Nye in the post.

RCMP and Conservation were called to the scene.

The cougar was also spotted around 10:45 a.m. crossing the highway near Klassen’s Car Dealership, a few blocks away, before it was spotted at the hospital around noon.

According to the Vancouver Island Wilderness and Historical Conservation, “Of the estimated 4000 cougars in Canada, 3500 live in BC. Of this, nearly a quarter reside on Vancouver Island (itself only representing 3% of BC’s land area), resulting in the highest concentration of cougars in the world.”

FACEBOOK PHOTO/ DANI ELLE
Cougar making itself at home at the Port Hardy Hospital.

FACEBOOK PHOTO/ DANI ELLE
Cougar leaving after about ten minutes of haning out at the Port Hardy Hosptial.